About Whitelady Waterfall
Whitelady Waterfall is a 30m high waterfall on a tributary of the River Lyd in the Lydford Gorge National Trust area (governing perhaps the deepest river gorge in the South West of England).
Situated in the western edge of Dartmoor National Park, the waterfall resides in a landlocked ancient oak woodland serving as a functioning habitat for wildlife.
The Lydford Gorge actually has two paid areas for public access with the Whitelady Waterfall being one of the paid sections and the Devil’s Cauldron being the other.
The Devil’s Cauldron is a sort of pothole in the deepest part of the Lydford Gorge, where a developed catwalk over the river can be traversed in an experience similar to the developed gorges found in both Germany and Austria.
Unfortunately for our early July 2024 visit, we showed up too late in the day to do both excursions and wound up choosing the Whitelady Waterfall over the Devil’s Cauldron.
Speaking of which, in order to visit the Lydford Gorge’s main waterfall, we had to pay 27.5 pounds (about $34 USD) for the family (which was the same price as paying for 2 adults at 11 pounds and a child at 5.5 pounds).
Then, we went on a pretty short and straightforward 1.1km hike in each direction (2.2km round-trip) on a well-established trail with an upside-down trajectory (i.e. we descended first then climbed on the way out).
The beginning of the trail actually went by the brink of the Whitelady Waterfall, but the archway to get close to the waterfall from up there was closed during our visit.
In any case, the trail then went down a couple of gently-sloping switchbacks before following along the River Lyd upstream towards the side ravine containing the main waterfall.
There was a bridge spanning the River Lyd that dead-ended at its other end, but we managed to briefly go up its side ravine to get right in front of the base of the impressive Whitelady Waterfall.
This was a pretty straightforward visit perfect for taking in the Nature as well as photographs, but swimming is strictly forbidden here.
So our visit didn’t last long, and we went back up to the car park (see directions below) after spending about 40 minutes or so on this excursion.
There was a trail that went about a mile or so along the River Lyd towards the Devil’s Cauldron, but we didn’t do that trail so we can’t say anything more about this option.
Authorities
The Whitelady Waterfall is in the Lydford Gorge National Trust near the village of Lydford in Devon County, England. It is managed by the National Trust. For information or inquiries about the area as well as current conditions, you can try visiting the National Trust website.
The Whitelady Waterfall resides in the Lydford Gorge in Lydford in Devon (the ceremonial county of this part of South West England).
Being in the middle of the South West, there are many ways to drive here (it all depends on where you’re based in).
Since we stayed in Ilfracombe, I’ll just describe the driving directions as if we left from there.
From Ilfracombe, we’d make our way south to the A361 for about 14 miles through Braunton and towards Barnstaple to hook up with the A39.
Once at the roundabout where the A361 hooks up with the A39, we took the 2nd exit to go west on the A39.
Then, we drove about a little over a mile on the A39 west before reaching a roundabout where we’d take the first exit for the B3232 Road leading to Torrington.
Next, we continued on the B3232 Road for about 9.4 miles before reaching a roundabout with the A386 Road.
Taking the first exit to continue going south on the A386, we’d then drive this road for about 27 miles towards an easy-to-miss signed turnoff for Lydford on the right.
Then, we took the Lydford turnoff and followed the local road for a little over 2 miles to the signed car park and entrance area for the Whitelady Waterfall part of the Lydford Gorge.
Overall, this drive should take about 90 minutes according to GoogleMaps (so it will likely take longer due to slower vehicles and tall hedge roads with blind spots).
For context, Lydford is about 22 miles (under an hour drive) north of Plymouth, about 34 miles (about an hour drive) south of Bideford, about 33 miles (under an hour drive) west of Exeter, about 52 miles (over 90 minutes drive) south of Ilfracombe, about 83 miles (over 90 minutes drive) northeast of Penzance, about 92 miles (under 2 hours drive) southwest of Glastonbury, about 134 miles (over 2 hours drive) southwest of Bath, and 229 miles (about 4 hours drive) west of London.
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Long video starting with a small swinging bridge before panning over to the main falls and seeing it from a couple of different spots
Left to right sweep from right at the base of the falls
Brief sweep examining the falls and the people admiring it as seen from the far end of the small swinging bridge
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